Over in the U.K., Sky’s television channels are beginning to challenge the traditional powerhouses (BBC, ITV and Channel 4) when it comes to commissioning original comedy and drama. They’ve moved a lot quicker in producing strong comedies by attracting the likes of Chris O’Dowd, Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan (who provided the channel with brand new Alan Partridge content), Charlie Brooker and Ruth Jones over to their channels, and they’re slowly starting to do the same with original drama.

Over in the U.K., Sky’s television channels are beginning to challenge the traditional powerhouses (BBC, ITV and Channel 4) when it comes to commissioning original comedy and drama. They’ve moved a lot quicker in producing strong comedies by attracting the likes of Chris O’Dowd, Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan (who provided the channel with brand new Alan Partridge content), Charlie Brooker and Ruth Jones over to their channels, and they’re slowly starting to do the same with original drama. Earlier in the year “Hit & Miss” debuted, starring Chloe Sevigny as a transsexual hit man, followed not long after by the ambitious “Sinbad.” The next drama to hit looks like an exciting one thanks to its high profile stars, Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe.

“A Young Doctor’s Notebook” is a four-part miniseries based on a collection of short stories by Russian playwright Mikhail Bulgakov, and will debut on Sky Arts 1 on December 6th. Hamm will play a doctor who deals with the struggles of his life and career through a series of bleakly comic exchanges with his younger self, played by Radcliffe. The first trailer has hit for the miniseries, and Hamm and Radcliffe look like a perfect pairing (and look more alike than Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for example) while the comedy angle is definitely the one being marketed.

Ever since Radcliffe excelled in the sequence in 'Harry Potter' where he takes the liquid luck, we’ve been convinced he’s probably a more talented comedic actor than a dramatic one, and this trailer does nothing to dispel that. We’ve seen enough of Hamm meanwhile to know that he can handle both with ease. There’s no news yet of whether this will make its way over to the U.S., but it will be getting a DVD release in the U.K., and if it proves to be successful then maybe the star names will convince a North American broadcaster to pick it up. [SnitchSeeker]